Heates j



June 12, 1923.

1,458,536 B. MILLER HEATER FOR BURNING PETROLEUM COKE Filed 001;. 11, 1922 Patented june 12, 1923.

BANKS L. MILLER, 01? SAN JUAN, TEXAS.

HEATER non BURNING rnraoLEUr r COKE.

Application filed October 11, 1922. Serial No. 593,744.

T 0 all'whomt may concern: 1

Be it know that I, BANKS L. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residingrat San Juan, in the county of Hidalgo and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heaters for Burning Petroleum Coke, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings.

This invention relates to heaters, and particularly to a heater designed for burning petroleum coke.

Petroleum coke is a product of oil refineries and is particularly plentiful in Texas and is known under some circumstances as basic sediment Ordinarily this basic sediment or petroleum coke is thrown aside onto the dumps and is an entirely waste product.

The general object of my invention is to provide a heater which is particularly designed for initially igniting and burning petroleum coke, and while I have illustrated an orchard heater I do not wish to be limited thereto.

A further object is to provide aheater of this character of very simple construction and which is so designed that it. may be readily supported against wind pressure and yet which may be as readily placed in a horizontal positionto extinguish the petroleum coke.

A still further object is to provide a heater of this character with a body and a grate, the grate being designed to hold'a certain amount of petroleum or like oil, and to support the bed of coke thereon so that the bed of coke mar be ignited by the burning oil, and to provide a heater in which the grate forms the base or support for the heater.

Another object is to provide grate for a heater of this character having "a medially disposed reservoir, with means whereby oil may be fed to the reservoir as the oil is exhausted in the reservoir, the connection be tween the oil tank and the reservoir being of such character that the oil tank may be readily removed when the coke has become ignited.

Still another object is to provide a heater of this character which may be readily carried about, placedin any desired position in the orchard or in any 'other situation,

which is very cheaply constructed, and

whichmaybe sold at a small cost.

Other objects will appear in the course I,

of the following description.

Myinvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved burner; y

Figure2 is a vertical section in a plane at right angles to the plane of Figure 1';

Figure 3 is a plan view of the grate. Referring to these drawings, 10 designates the body of the heater, which is constructed of galvanized sheet iron, and which under ordinary circumstances will be about'30" high and a little over 9" in diameter. This cylindrical body at its upper end is provided with a bail 11 whereby the heater may be handled. The heater has three holes punched in the body, there being a single lower hole 12 which constitutes a draft and lighting opening, and the heater also havinga pair of oppositely disposed holes 13 disposed above the hole 12. c

For the purpose of supporting the heater in a vertical position againstwindpressure, anfeyo 14% is attached to the heater, and

swingingly mnnected to this, eye is a. wire brace 15 having its lower. end angularly" bent so that it may be thrust into the ground. a i y Supporting the body of the heater-- in place of legs is a. cast iron grate, designated generally 16, and upon which the heater rests, this grate having a downwardly extending rib 17 extending diametrically across it,the rib being channeled on its upper face, as at 18Qthis channel forming a trough or reservoir, This rib 17 extends out beyond the circumference of the grate, as does the trough 18., so as to provide an outwardly pro ecting lip- 9,

Associated with the trough 18 is anoil tank 20 which may contain, say agallon of i oil, and which is entirely closedto prevent the entrance of'air, except for a discharge nozzle or pipe .21. This oil can or tank 20 is so supported that the nozzle Qiextends down into the trough 18. As soon, there-' fore, as the liquid in the trough 18 rises to a point where it closes the lower end'of the nozzle v21, entrance of air into theinterior of the oil can is prevented and no oil is feel from the can or tanlr. lVhen the oil in the trough 18 has descended so far that the lower end of the nozzle 21 is uncovered, then a cer tain amount of oil will descend into the trough and again fill it up so as to close the nozzle. Thus the trough will be continually filled with oil and the tank 20 is so designed that there is sufficient oil to supply the heater for about one hour, whichis the time required to light petroleum coke in its crude form as it comes from the refinery stills. v

In the use of this invention, the necessary amount of coke is disposed upon the grate 16. Then theoil is allowed to flow from the tank 20 into the trough l8 and when the trough 18 has been filled the oil is ignited. This oil burns in this trough or bowl 18 for an hour and in that space of time ignites the coke. After the coke has been ignited the oil can 20 is removed from its association with the grate and in that case the trough 18 will permit air to enter beneath the coke and this trough 18 with its lip 19 acts as a draft opening. When it is desired to extinguish the fire of petroleum coke,-the heater is laid upon itsside. This will cause the fire to immediately go out, as it cuts off the draft, and petroleum coke is of such nature'that any cutting off of the draft will immediately stop the burning of Y the coke. After the petroleum coke has been ignited, the oil reservoir may be removed so I as to not interfere with heat radiation and also to permit the reservoir to be refilled for the next lighting. 7 7

While I have, illustrated a form of my invention which is particularly designed as an orchard heater, I do not wish to be limited to this application of my invention nor to the exact details of construction, as these may be varied in many ways without departing from the principle of the inveni-ng out practically no heat. V] hen it is desired that the heater shallt ow outheat,

how-ever, the dirt or other matterw ich obstructs the passage of air through the grate may be shifted and immediately air passes upward directly through the fuel and the .heaterwithin a few minutes attains full heat. This is particularly important in an orchard, as sometimes low temperature will threaten for hours though there will be no necessity at that time for heat protection, yet this heat protection is wanted instantly should the temperature drop, and in this case it is only necessary to start the ignition of the coke and then by blocking up the drafts beneath the grate allowing the coke to smoulder.

The holes 13 are disposed opposite each other in order to create a horizontal draft, and inasmuch as they are placed relatively high up in the heater they cause a greater amount of coke to be ignited than would otherwise be the case and thus secure a greater heating efliciency. \Vhen the heater is laid onits side this action cuts off the vertical movement of the air through the heater and the draft holes 12 and 13 become uselessand the grate also and the fire goes out. The holes 12 and 13 and the draft opening formed by the trough 18 are so disposed asto cause the even distribution of air to the burning coke and thus cause the coke to burn evenly at all points, and furthermore these openings 12 and 13 cut down the force .of draft through the grates so that too great a heat will not be created which would tend to burn the grate out.

v It will be seen that in my device the oil is carried not in the heater itself but in a separate receptacle which is water-tight and is always ready to supply oil free from water and at the same time has a suficient amount of oil to heat the coke to the igniting point, which other heaters do not have, the coke being ignited in other heaters by kindling wood. types of coke than petroleum coke. The heater is particularly designed for use with petroleum coke, however, as there is no necessity of crumbling up the crude petroleum coke and forming it into brlcks and adding oil to the same, which is an expensive process and not always available. The heater is entirely practical for camp stoves, particularly where open tents are used.

I claim v 1. A heater comprising a hollow body, and l a grate disposed in the lower end of the body and having downwardly extending rib forming the base upon which the body and grate rest, said-rib being hollowed outto form a trough for containing fuel oil.

comprising a hollow body, and e the body, the grate beprovidev an oil receiving eXte.. ding diametrically across the gr and beyond the grate, the bottom of the grate being formed to support the body of the grate in spaced relation to the ground.

3. A heater comprising a hollow body open at itsv upper end, a grate formin the lower end of said body, the grate havlng downwardly extending rib hollowed on its upper face to form a trough, saidrib extending beyond the circumference of the This heater will also burn other grate and of the body, and a fuel oil reservoir exterior to the body having a nozzle projecting downward into the projecting end of the trough and normally closed by the fuel oil in said trough.

1-. A heater comprising a hollow body open at its upper end, a grate forming the lower end of said body, the grate having a downwardly extending rib hollowed on'its upper face to form a trough, said rib extending beyond the circumference of the grate and of the body, and a fuel oil reservoir having a nozzle projecting downward into the projecting end of the trough and normally closed by the fuel oil in said trough,

the oil reservoir being removable from its association with the trough. i j

5. A heater comprising a hollow sheets I metal body open at its upper end and having draft and ignition openings, a grate forming the bottom of said body and having a downwardly extending rib constituting a base upon which the body is supported, the

tight oil reservoir exterior to thebody hav- 1 ing a nozzle'in its lower end extending downward into the projecting end of the trough and normally closed by the fuel oil in said trough said reservoir and nozzle being entirely removable from the body and trough. I In testimony'whereof I'hereunto afiix my signature.

BANKS L. MILLER. 

